Q/A equipment for micro tools now available

(Eschenlohe, Germany) has developed and now markets a quality-control system for inspection of tool bits and other machining equipment able to spot defects in the sub-millimeter spectrum. Calling it Kern µ-view, the company says it not only offers better inspection quality than the microscopes often used in-house for Q/A of this tooling, but also offers a more expedient and low-cost alternative to sending tooling to outside inspection businesses.
 
The company’s officials say they already have built a body of experience with the µ-view in their own operation; among other fields the company handles ultra-fine machining of metal pieces for the timepiece industry. Managing Director Rudolf Riedel says that if a processor or manufacturer has enough micro-milling work to keep the system busy, the Q/A system can be amortized in a year or less.
  
The µ-view can inspect tools sized from less than a circumference of 100 µm to ones with cutting widths of 50 mm.  The camera-based inspection delivers a picture enlarged by up to 450 times to a PC monitor for a user to inspect a tool. The user can create a library of “master photos,” which can be used to compare a tool in pristine condition to ones that have been used, and receive feedback on any faults. —[email protected]